All's Fair In Love And War
by i.was.kitten
Summary: The Dark Turtles, clones or not, they are still teenagers with hormones, especially when it comes to love. One night, the blue leader, after staying with the original Turtles, learning a few things, certain changes come to his mind, and when he meets a girl in trouble, changes in his heart. I own nothing.
1. Hesitant Chivalry

**Chapter 1: Hesitant Chivalry**

In the night of New York City, of the year of 2105, once home to only humans, as well as the entire Earth, now a home to millions of different of species of aliens from many planets. Humans and other worlders now live and work together peacefully, not just on Earth, but in other places of different galaxies.

However, even though there is more peace than there used to be, all places of the universe still have their dangers, including New York City of Earth.

A young human girl with dark hair, in her dark coat that fell to her dark shiny shoes, was walking home from work, plumb exhausted from the day. She sighed in exasperation, her tired green eyes half closed. Her occupation was to file and organize papers for a tech company that just hired her recently: O'Neil Tech.

She was good at putting things in proper places and knew how to find them immediately when requested. It was a good paying job, but it was a dull as spinning child-protective capsules on medicine bottles on conveyor belts.

_Oh, well, at least it puts bread on the table. _She told herself in her head. It was better than being jobless and be hungry and homeless.

On her way back to her apartment, the chill in the air flew her black hair back, making her snug her fuzzy coat. She did not like the cold and was grateful she didn't have a long way to get back home.

She decided to take a shortcut through a part of the town she wasn't used to and as she threaded her way, she saw how eerily dark and...scary it appeared.

She shook her head, telling herself not to let fear get the better of her and end up scared of her own shadow.

_Besides, looks can be deceiving. It must be a good neighborhood behind the creepy exterior. _

Unfortunately, she was about to find out just how wrong she was. Very wrong. In an alley she was approaching, a shadow, a living moving shadow, with unsettling yellow eyes that looked at the girl, as if she was prey, waited until she came closer. She was completely unaware of the danger until she reached the alley.

Then, the shadow's tail moved and found itself around her waist. The girl was bewildered at the touch one second, and the next second, she felt the thing on her waist pull her off her feet, and yelped as she flew in the air and grunted with closed eyes when she felt her back hit the impact of the wall.

She opened her eyes to see what was attacking her, but it was too dark to her to tell what it was exactly, but she was shocked from the terrifying yellow eyes it had and its teeth that gleamed yellowish-white from the darkness of the alley.

She stole a quick glance down below its neck to see it had a...shell?

_What is this thing?! _She screamed in her head. In fact, she was about to scream out loud for help, but the living shadow lifted its giant clawed hand, turned it horizontally, and covered her mouth.

She tried to remove its hand from her face, but it was too strong. She saw the thing's head lean toward hers, making her squeeze her eyes shut, thinking maybe this creature was going to eat her, but instead, felt its hard foul breath in her ear.

"Do not scream," the thing's soft yet icy, scary voice spoke, "Or I may have to get rough."

She knew it meant what it said, and since it was stronger than she was, she had no choice but to obey and waited in suspense to see what this beast wanted with her.

The creature nodded in satisfaction. "Good." It pulled its hand from her lips and tilted her chin up with its sharp claw, not to pierce her skin, but to look at her face.

"Not bad looking," it commented, "Definitely like the green eyes standing out in the darkness."

Neither of them in the alley noticed another creature jumping on a roof above them, a giant blue shelled being with huge blades strapped to its back, overlooking to see what was going on below and saw in shock, the shelled purple being he knew with a girl he held against the wall.

"What is he doing?" he asked quietly, leaning against the edge of the rooftop to get a better look at the scene going on.

The purple creature moved its claw away from her chin and held a lock of her hair, admiring it as he said, "You're must be wondering what I want. Let's just say, I'm bored out of my mind and..." He added, stroking a long sharp finger down her cheek, making her shiver in such fright, "I'd like to do something new. Guess what it is?"

The girl's eyes widened like a pair of goose eggs. He wanted to have his way with her? She couldn't believe this.

The blue creature was just as surprised. He never knew the purple being to do things like this before and now that he's bored' he's going to?

"Now this will only last for approximately five minutes at least," he explained, then added cupping her chin, "Of course, if I like it more I think I will, I might decide to keep you."

_He can't be serious! _She yelled in her terrified mind.

The blue creature also hoped he wasn't serious. "Hey, egghead, we can't have guests staying with us," he muttered through gritted teeth, gripping the rooftop's edge.

"Now let's see," the purple being said quietly to himself, tilting her head upwards to look at her open neck. "I've heard some lovers like kissing each other right here," he told her, gently poking her neck, making her blood colder than the outside air. "But I keep hearing this is even more entertaining," he added, pointing at her lips. "So where to start?"

The blue creature's face twisted in disgust. He really couldn't believe the purple being's new behavior tonight. However, what moved him was the terror on the girl's face. He'd never such a fearful look before...and for some unknown reason...he didn't like that look at all and he couldn't explain why...

"You know, I'll start here first," the purple creature decided, keeping her face to the sky and she knew he was going to neck her. She didn't want this. She'd always dreamed of finding a boyfriend, but a good gentlemanly guy, not some alien taking advantage of her.

She shed a tear and uttered a plea, "Please, don't."

"Hey, I said only five minutes," he reminded her, not caring that she was crying, "Besides, you might like it."

No, she wasn't going to like it, but that wouldn't matter to him anyhow. More tears fell down her cheeks as she closed her wet eyes and braced herself for a very bad inexperience.

From above their heads, the blue being could see water flowing from her eyes and down her face and felt something inside him say he should do something.

But why? He never cared what happened to other people before...but this feeling kept nagging and he knew it wouldn't go away unless he intervened. Groaning to himself, he pulled out a throwing star, one of his handmade ones and threw it at a dumpster.

Just as the purple creature was about to lean in to the girl's neck, he heard the noise of an object hitting metal and looked to see what it was.

When his head was turned to the side, he was unaware of the blue creature who appeared on his other blind side and, with the hilt of his large blade, hit the purple beast on the back of his head, stunning him and knocked him out.

The girl was astonished that she found her feet touching the ground and the purple creature's hands and tail off of her and looked in surprise to see he was unconscious. Then she immediately saw the blue creature looking down at the fallen purple being, a really big blade in his hand.

When she saw he had a shell, too, she gasped, wondering if these two knew each other, wondering if they were related...and if he was bored, too, and wanted to...

As soon as the blue being turned a yellow eye, the other eye covered by maybe an eye patch of some sort, sharply at her, she tried to escape, but the blue creature proved too fast, blocking her path with his blade in the wall next to her, and a hand pressed on the wall at her other side.

She pinned herself to the wall, shaking, scared of him doing what the other one was going to do to her. Instead, she heard his voice, a rougher deeper one than the other shelled creature's, ordering, "Stop trembling like that. I'm not going to touch you."

She blinked at him in bewilderment, asking hesitantly, "T-then what do you want?"

"For starters what do you think you're doing here in a neighborhood like this?" he snapped, "Didn't anyone ever tell you this is a dangerous place, especially during the nighttime?"

"N-no," she stammered, frightened by the irritation in his voice and the blade next to her head, "I don't talk to people much and this is my first time coming here. Wanted a shortcut home and I thought maybe this place wasn't as bad as it looked. They say looks can be deceiving."

"Well, it's not as bad as it looks," he agreed, then added roughly, "it's worse than it looks. You have no idea the kind of psychotic weirdos that walk around these streets. And believe me," he assured, tilting his blue head to the still KO'd being on the ground, "Others would do worse to you than what he was going to do."

The girl looked at the blue being and the purple being and couldn't help by asking, "By any chance, are you...related to each other?"

"Unfortunately," he sighed in exasperation, "I guess you could tell by the shell."

"The shells kinda gave the thought away," she confessed.

"Speaking of thought, I have to say, it was pretty thoughtless coming through here, thinking it was a friendly neighborhood," he rebuked, then wondered why he was scolding her. Well, hey, it was thoughtless to come here in a place like this. The girl had to know that, whether or not she liked talking to anyone. Still, why should it matter to him that the girl should be careful...?

"I definitely see that now," she replied, looking at the purple relative of the blue, which she had to guess, turtle's, what with the shell thing. She turned to him and asked curiously, "Is that why you've pinned me here? To lecture me?"

"Well, actually, I've pinned you here to make sure you don't open your mouth about us," he answered, and her blood ran cold again, looking at the blade, wondering if he meant to...?

Sensing what she was thinking, he pulled the blade out of the wall and sheathed back on his carapace. "I didn't mean it like that," he corrected, but put his free hand where his blade was on the wall, making a cordon of arms at each side of her now to make her stay put. "What I mean is: Everything you saw here today stays here, understand?" he asked in a serious and scary tone, making her nod quickly. "The last thing we want is fame."

"Why?" she asked.

"None of your business," he hissed, making her flinch, "We don't like much talking with people, either."

"And yet he..." she pointed out, motioning her head to his purple relative.

"Well, he did say he was bored," the blue turtle recalled, "I mean, he's not one to do these sort of things. None of us are."

"'None of us'?" she echoed, "You mean, it's not just you and him?"

Now the blue turtle flinched, accidentally sharing more information than he should. "Yeah, but it's still none of your business. Although, I will say, you're lucky it was him and not the others. You see, compared to them, we're almost gentle and sane."

"When you say almost..." she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we're not ones for company..." he answered, looking away.

"And yet...you helped me," she added. "Why?"

"To be honest, I don't know why, either," he admitted, looking at her, and despite how dark it was, she could see a thoughtful expression on his face, "I guess it just didn't seem right. But don't make a big deal out of it. Just go home, keep your mouth shut about us and never come into this neighborhood again."

He pulled an arm next to the exit of of the alley, adding, "Also, even if you're tired and you don't feel like a long walk from home, don't take any more shortcuts. And get to know your city's streets more so you're know what you're dealing with out here. Follow that advice would to me considered a 'thank you', especially keeping quiet about us."

She looked at street and back to him and couldn't help being...more curious about him. He and his relatives were unknown, or wanted to be unknown, and from what he said, his relatives were bad to the bone...and yet this one...saved her from his, she figured, purple brother's mistreatment...and he, himself, didn't know why he did.

He looked at her stare...her green stare which...really did look nice from up close, not that he cared. "Look, quit staring and just go," he ordered, pushing the girl with his big blue hand to the sidewalk.

"What about your brother?" she asked.

"Don't worry about him," he answered with a dismiss of his hand, "He can take a hit. We all can. Just go home and remember what we agreed on."

Taking one last look at her blue turtle savior, she nodded and quickly walked back to the friendlier neighborhood she knew so well.

The blue turtle stepped up to the sidewalk, leaned against the building and watched her go, making sure she kept moving...seeing her dark hair flowing in her wake... At that thought, he shook his head hard, and face-palmed.

"Oh, well, that takes care of that," he pronounced, then looked at his purple brother still lying on the floor out cold. "I can't believe you tried to make moves on a female," he commented. "I mean, were you _that_ bored?"

With that thought, he began to wonder if his other two idiot brothers would want to do the same thing. His yellow brother most likely, but he doubted his red brother would want to... Not exactly one to make affections...

The blue turtle, himself, was definitely not one to do things like that, either, no matter how bored...

"Huh, that girl was something," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "She was scared when she saw me, but when she knew I wasn't going to harm her, she wasn't all that afraid... Asking questions as if we were interesting..." He shook his head again, trying to get her out of her mind. What did it matter to him? She was gone and she knew better than to come to this part of town again, hopefully for her sake...not that he really cared... Nope, didn't care at all in the least...

The girl, taking the longer, safer trek home, kept thinking about the event back there. A purple turtle comes to take advantage of her, but his brother, a blue turtle, comes to her rescue... He wasn't one to be sociable much...but...there...was something about him... Something mysterious to why he saved her when he didn't know...

And, even though, she promised never to walk into his neighborhood again...she kept wondering...would she ever see him again...and maybe learn more about him...?

She couldn't help smiling...saying to herself very quietly, "My blue, mysterious hero..."


	2. Heartbreaking Dreams

**Chapter 2: Heartbreaking Dreams**

The girl returned to her apartment, a 50 story building, a good-looking silver and red place. As she walked, she recalled that event in the alley 15 minutes ago. She couldn't get the blue turtle out of her head. She wondered if he was going reprimand his purple brother for touching her like that. In fact, when she thought about that purple turtle, she shivered, clutching her fuzzy, black-sleeved arms.

He had such a hungry look when he said he'd kiss her. She winced at that thought of that beast putting its mouth on her, and shook her head to get that horrible memory out. Although, she couldn't shake that blue turtle away...nor would she try.

_Something about him... I just can't help but wonder..._

When she finally stepped inside the lobby, the golden-colored tiled floors shiny and beautiful and black tables holding elegant vases with beautiful flowers to fill the place with a spectacular aroma. She saw at the reception desk a purple alien with pointy ears who looked up to see the girl coming up.

"Well, well, well, the ever hard working Miss Elizabeth," he greeted with a smile.

Elizabeth smiled at back at him. "Hi, Mac. Anything new?" She knew Mac for several months since she had first moved here and they'd often share words of a friendly conversation.

_At least this is one purple creature I feel safe with._

"Just the usual so-and-so," Mac replied, looking at his holographic papers.

Seeing those papers in his hands reminded Elizabeth of how she would always have them stuck to hers at work all day long while organizing them and putting them in the right cabinets and such and it gave her a headache at the thought of it.

"And you?" Mac asked, looking at her. "Anything new happened lately?"

Elizabeth would've shared of how a purple monster, a shelled-bodied disgusting monster, tried to force his completely unwanted affections on her and how his blue-shelled brother knocked him out to protect her, but she recalled promising the blue turtle she'd say nothing about them at all. So she shook her head and replied, "Afraid not. Just another usual day..."

"Yeah, but another usual day and another usual good amount of credits," Mac put in, trying to make things positive. He knew she wasn't crazy about her job, but he tried to cheer her up to get her try to make the best of it.

"Yeah, I guess so," she answered, not looking at him, heading for the elevator. Although, regarding the job, she wasn't all that enthused. "Well, thanks for the talk, Mac, but I've got to eat, clean myself up, and get ready for tomorrow," she said as the elevator opened for her to step in. She pressed the button for the very top floor and waved Mac farewell as the door slowly closed again. "See ya."

"See ya," Mac waved back until the door closed him from her sights.

Elizabeth sighed deeply and leaned against the wall and wiped her face to her chin to her forehead. Then she felt something wet on her fingers tips and she realized her face was stained with tears from the alley when that purple thing almost kissed her. She hoped Mac didn't notice or else ask questions tomorrow.

She got rid of the purple turtle and replaced him with the blue turtle who helped her...even though he didn't know why and said it just didn't feel right. Sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor until the elevator stopped, she wrapped her arms around her knees and wondered how the blue turtle felt now.

* * *

><p>The blue turtle who was back sitting on the rooftop he was on before, overlooked his unconscious purple brother with folded arms, wondering when he was going to wake up. He could've dragged him home himself, but then the purple turtle would probably ask the blue turtle if he was the one who'd hit him. And then his other brothers would call him soft for protecting a girl and he refused that kind of treatment.<p>

They were already looking at him funny ever since he'd started acting differently, what with suggesting ideas like sharing food with each other and working more like a team instead of bickering wild animals at each other's throats all the time. If they knew he'd started doing like defending damsels in distress, they wouldn't follow him anymore as a leader.

"Not that they look much at me as a leader, anyway," the blue turtle muttered darkly. He sighed in exasperation and said, "Whatever, I'll just wait until he wakes up." He could've just left him there and let him wake up whenever, but he wanted to make sure for himself he'd get up.

"Maybe I am getting soft," the blue turtle thought. After all, he did save a girl in her need. It that wasn't a sign of softness, he didn't know what it was. "Well, hey, I just didn't like what he was going to do to her. Is it that wrong to feel like that? And another thing, about that girl, I don't care if she doesn't like talking to people much. She should know about these things. Coming here and at night is a very dangerous thing to do. She's very lucky I saved her sorry hide on time."

He blinked, telling himself he was thinking about her again and squeezed the middle of his forehead. "Why do I have her back in my head?" he asked himself quietly. Well, hopefully, he thought, she'd learned her lesson and never speak a word about him or his brothers to anyone. Still, she did seem a bit weird, though. To get scared of him because of his purple brother for one second, and then get curious the next...

"She guessed we were brothers," he said, looking down at his comatose sibling again, "Well, we may not resemble at all, but we are the same age and anyone else would think we were brothers..."

When he kept thinking, he remembered those emerald green eyes of hers that looked into his eyes...as if she was searching for answers in his mind...looking for the truth about him and his brothers... That intense, hypnotic gaze... Before he'd shoved her away to make her go away and yet those eyes were captivating him in his head...

"Ugh, stop thinking about it," he ordered himself, banging his big hand on his head, "Stop thinking about it." He started to hear a faint groan below him and he turned his head sharply down the alley and saw that his purple brother was starting to rise from his little nap, rubbing his sore head.

Relieved that he woke up at last, the blue turtle nodded and quickly left before the purple turtle looked up and spotted him. "About time that so-called genius woke up," he murmured as he hopped from roof to roof, getting away, "I was beginning to think I'd have to be here all night." Hopefully, the purple turtle would forget about that girl and the girl would stay silent about the two of them and forget all about them...

"Hopefully, I'll forget about her, too."

* * *

><p>After making dinner and washing herself up, Elizabeth, in her blue bathrobe, stepped into her big living room of blue furniture and blue tables, looking at the window with sky blue curtains. What could she say? Blue was her favorite color...<p>

"He was blue himself," she said, referring her turtle hero, grabbing a blue throw pillow on her love seat and hugged it close to her when she sat down. "I think it suits him... Blue is a noble color..."

However, from what she'd learned, the turtle, along with his brothers, who knows how many besides the purple one, weren't supposed to be noble. He did say there weren't friendly and that his other brothers were even more dangerous than his purple brother and that they lived in secret...

"Are...they criminals...?" she asked herself quietly. They'd have to be if they didn't want to be known and if they were dangerous...

"But he rescued me... There must be some good in him...even if he doesn't understand it..."

The more and more she thought, Elizabeth actually wanted to learn more...about him, anyway. "But I'm not...'cause I'll never see him again."

That thought made her feel blue, more so than his skin and her furniture, tables, and his skin. He'd saved her and yet she would never have the chance to get to know him better...and there was something in his eyes, at least in his yellow eye that held something...confusion...and longing...

"I hope he's well..."

She stood up and walked up to her window, overlooking the busy city famous for its name, "The City That Never Sleeps," cars driving and flying from here to there, the lights from the buildings and streets making the city look beautiful, people going on with their lives as if they didn't have a care in the world...

But there was one person Elizabeth cared even though she didn't know much about him...and she tried in vain to look for him from her window in the enormous bright city. With her hand on the glass window, she whispered, "Where are you now...?"

After several minutes, she looked at her kitchen from across her living room and saw on the oven clock which shown red in the darkness it was already 9:45. It was a busy, yet scary and somewhat very interesting night, and she was tired, so she went to bed, her floor with blue throw rugs and her bed of blue blankets and pillows.

She snuggled herself in and as soon as her head touched the pillow, she saw on her table at her bedside a picture of herself, only younger, along with a man and a woman. The man had her hair and the woman had her face and eyes, all three smiling in the photograph, making the older Elizabeth smile herself.

She picked up the photo and lay her back on the mattress as she stared at the picture. "Mom...Dad...you should know already in Heaven that I met a mysterious stranger who protected me. I know he wouldn't call himself anyone's guardian angel...but to me, he is a hero in his way. Wherever he is, please ask God to watch over him...and his family, too, whoever they might be. Thank you, Mom, Dad, and God. Amen." She hugged the photo and gently put it back to place and soon fell to sleep.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth found herself in a green woodland, the sun shining through thick branches, the breeze blowing in the air, ruffling the leaves, making a pleasant noise that soothed her soul as she threaded the path with trees on each side of her. It was a beautiful place and she hoped she could stay here.<p>

Suddenly, she heard a call for her and she turned around and saw with shock two people she didn't think she'd see again.

"Mom? Dad?" she called, looking at her parents who were waving her to come to them. Shedding tears and smiling happily, she ran straight for them and hugged them tightly. "I missed you so much!" she cried, overflowing with joy. This was the best day of her life. Her folks were alive and well and with her... It was too good to be true.

"We love you, Elizabeth," they told their daughter.

"I love you, too," she replied, still hugging them.

She hoped this would last...but when she looked at them...they started to look blurry.

"Mom, Dad, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"We're always with you," they told her softly, holding her hands, starting to go up.

"No, no..." she said, shaking her head, trying to keep hold of their hands. "No, don't go!" she yelled. "Please... Why do you have to go?"

The more her parents ascended upward, the more their fingers started to slip from hers. This time, her tears of joy turned to tears of sorrow. "Please don't leave me again," she begged, her heart breaking badly. The next thing she knew, their hands moved away from hers and they waved good-bye at their little girl.

"Wait, please..." she called quietly, more tears falling as she watched her parents go up in the clouds and out of her sight.

She started to sob softly and landed on her knees on the grassy ground and hid her watery eyes in her palms. "Why? Why?"

Suddenly, she felt a touch on her shoulder and she looked and saw in surprise the blue turtle she never thought she'd see again. "It's you," she said, immediately standing up and turned to him. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer her, but he brought a big finger to her face and wiped her cheeks of the tears and though his appearance was shadowy like it was in the alley despite it was so sunny out here, she could see a gently sympathetic smile on his face.

She was happy to see him again, but she took a step back and asked, "Are you going to leave me, too?" He tilted his head, wondering what she was talking about. Not about to wait for an answer, she folded her arms and walked away. "I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna stand around and see you disappear in front of my eyes, too."

Before she went farther away, she felt two big hands stop her and pulled her into a hug, making her eyes wide in surprise. The strong arms kept her close and didn't let go. At first, she was going to protest, but...she was so hurt seeing her parents go away again, she gave in and turned herself around and cried in his plastron, feeling him pat her back in comfort.

The next thing: Elizabeth heard an alarm clock and woke up to see it was 6:45 a.m. and that it was time to get up and to go work.

"So...it was just a dream..." she murmured. She pulled her dark hair back to behind her ears and felt tears on her face, knowing she was crying in her sleep. Sighing, she wiped her face dry and started getting around. When she started to go down the elevator, she wondered about the blue turtle...hugging her and drying her face like he cared.

"I doubt he'd do that in real life..." she thought aloud. "He did seem irritable talking to me... He probably doesn't want to see me again...even though I'd like to see him again."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry, I took a while. Been having trouble finding the motivation. I hope this is good so far. Please give me the encouragement to do better and please, feel free to give me suggestions. Thank you and God bless, everyone. ;)<strong>_


	3. Destined Meeting

**Chapter 3: Destined Meeting**

That next morning, Dark Leo slept in his quarters which was messy. The only furnishings he had were a beat-up old brown table that held his swords and handmade throwing stars and other weapons he made himself; a big white chair, and an old ripped-up mattress which he was resting on, his front facing the ceiling and hands locked on his plastron.

He had a dream that found himself by the East River at night, watching the moon's reflection rippling on the surface along with the city lights' reflection as well. It looked nice to him and he kind of wished he had noticed this sort of thing before. It was beautiful and relaxing, nothing he had seen before. Then again, he never took the time to look at lovely things in life...

_But what's the big deal about life? I'm a clone. I never lived my life...not like my original has. I wasn't born like he was. I was just created in some lab, to be a hired gun for Dunn and leading a group of morons who don't take me or anything else seriously, constantly being beaten by my counterpart and his own siblings. Just what does life mean to me, anyway? All I've ever known is failure and never ending arguments from my brothers and insults from our boss. _

As he walked alongside the river, feeling like a tortured soul...in a cloned genetic body that looked messed up and unevenly different from the real Leonardo's, he wondered what was the point of this life anymore if life didn't mean anything to him at all? Then, when he looked at his reflection, he thought about how much people would think of him as a monster... Yes, he could hear their voices screaming and yelling the word "monster!" right now.

"_Is this supposed to be my fate? To live like a monster?!_" he shouted, pulling out his blade from his shell. In rage, he slashed the water's surface, trying in vain to break the reflection so he wouldn't see his awful appearance... Suddenly, to his shock, when the water settled, his reflection changed from blue...to green...the only blue was a blue mask he was wearing on his head and his height a lot shorter.

He blinked in confusion, leaning closer to the water, knowing he was looking an awful like...? "_Leonardo?_"

What startled him to make him take a step backward was when the original Leonardo started speaking to him.

"_It's gotta be bugging the heck out of you. The conflict you're feeling right about now. Lots of heavy stuff fretting around in there._"

He was using the same words the real Leonardo had given him...when Dark Leo had a hard time choosing to double cross his...hosts when he made his brothers hurt him on purpose when he pretended to save their friend Cody Jones to make them think he wasn't all bad and choose to take him in to help him recover...when he would let his brothers in to destroy their originals forever...

"_Why are you haunting me now?" _Dark Leo asked the water-based Leonardo who was looking at him with an intense gaze.

_"I can see it in your eyes. You've got questions about who you are,_" Leo continued.

_"You're here just to bother me with that again?_" he yelled. "_I told you, I already know what I am!_" With that, he slashed at the water again to make Leonardo go away and when he broke the surface, the water made him see his own reflection again. He panted as he looked at the thing he was doomed to be. "_But...am I happy with it?_" he asked himself, his hand shaking until his sword fell down with a clatter to the ground, kneeling with his palms resting on the concrete sidewalk next to the water, looking painfully at what he was.

_And...do I want it...?_

Then at the corner of his eye, he saw a person and he quickly turned to see it was a girl...the same girl whom he had rescued last night, walking up to him so...calmly.

"_It's you again,_" he spoke to her, but she said nothing when she came beside him, looking at him with an expression he couldn't explain what it was. "_What, you think I'm a monster, too?_" he challenged, but she said nothing again nor did she show the slightest fear. She just kept staring at him with those green eyes that still burned in his memory and only at him.

"_Why?_" he asked, not so upset or irritated now, but curiously, "_Why do you keep staring at me with those eyes...as if you want to know something...that isn't worth knowing...or worth caring about?_"

She didn't say a word, but held out a hand to him, making him wonder what she was up to. What he saw in her eyes was, which one would think was kindness...but to him it was pity.

With an agitated growl, he shove her hand away and stood up to look down at her. "_Listen, I don't want sympathy from anyone,_" he told her flat out, "_It doesn't do anyone any good. And another thing, why is it I can't get your eyes out of my head?_"

A silent response was all he got from her again. Then she turned her head to the water next to them and started to take a step in it. Dark Leo, for some reason, panicked by her action, held her back.

"_What are you doing? You want to drown?_"

"_What do you care?_" she asked calmly, looking at him, "_You said you don't care about life. What should it matter to you if another person loses their life?_"

His eyes widened at the way she had hit him like that. He did he say he didn't care about his life...but to do something to save another...?

"_Besides, I'm not in any danger,_" she put in, taking his hand off her and lifted her legs over the railing and started to put a foot in the water.

"_Wait,_" he started to say, but then thought maybe she meant she was just going to swim. However, he found that she didn't put her foot in the water, she put it on top of the water, walking on the surface. His eyes, or at least his yellow eye was big and round in complete shock at what she was doing.

"_H-How are you doing that?_" he asked, his eyes not leaving her.

"_Take my hand, and I'll show you_," the girl answered, extending her hand to him again. He stood on dry concrete land, looking at her little hand, wondering if this was a good idea. Then he recalled Leonardo's story of how a scorpion asked a frog to carry him across a stream of water, promising he wouldn't harm the amphibian, but just when the frog was helping the scorpion, the poisonous insect stung him, anyway, sending them both to a watery grave.

He wondered if this girl would get him killed like the scorpion did to the frog... Then again, if he died, what would it matter, anyway? With a sigh, saying good-bye to his miserable life in case this was the end, he took the girl's hand without a second thought, and lifting a foot over the water, preparing to drown, but found to his amazement that his foot was standing on the surface.

"_Now, the other foot,_" the girl instructed gently, indicating his leg still on the sidewalk.

Dark Leo obeyed, getting curious by the second and found himself standing on the water next to her... "_I...I can't believe it..._" he murmured, looking around the water he was...standing on! "_How are we doing this?_"

"_You trusted me...and that benefited you..._" she answered.

"_What does trust have to do with anything?_" he asked.

"_You would ask that question...because there is no such thing as trust where you are...nor is there such a thing as hope or love, either._"

"_What are you talking about?_" he questioned, baffled at her words.

"_If you wish to know what I am talking about..._" she replied, taking steps back from him, "_come look for me..._" Then she started to go down in the water.

"_Hey!_" Dark Leo shouted in alarm, going up to her to stop her from getting below the water completely and possibly drowning, but too late, she was already gone when he'd just barely made it. "Wait, come back!" he cried, trying to dig in the water to dive in, but couldn't fit his hands through as if the water was made of glass. "_How can you tell me if you're dead?!_" he screamed.

He tried desperately to break through the water's surface, he even took out his blades to try to break it, but it was no use.

"_I'm not dead..._" the girl's voice said in his head, spooking him, making him look around to see her, but couldn't find her. "_Come look for me..._"

"_How?!_" he exclaimed, "_I can't even break through the stupid water!_"

"_I'm not in the water..._" the girl told him, "_Look for me..._"

"_If you're not in the water, then tell me where you are..._" he requested, but heard no response.

Feeling frustrated by this, he looked at his reflection, asking, "_How am I supposed to find her if she won't tell me...?_" With a wrapped up fist, he roared and hit the glass-like water, still unbreakable, then suddenly he heard a crash... "_What...?_"

* * *

><p>Dark Leo gasped, and opened his eye and sat bolt right up, then looked around his surroundings to find himself back in his quarters. He sighed with relief, glad to know it was just a nightmare...<p>

_I was freaked she was going to die... Why...? What is it about her that makes me do these things...?_

Then he heard the same crash he'd heard in his dream and started to wonder what the shell it was, so he got up, looked at his weapons on the table and set up his fighting gear and opened the door a crack to see what was going on.

He saw his youngest little yellow brother Dark Mikey playing with the bazooka, shooting at boxes. Dark Leo groaned in exasperation. He looked at the clock at his wrist communicator to see it was 7:00 a.m.

"It's too early for this," Dark Leo grumbled, closing his door again, sitting back down on the edge of his bed. "I'm not going out there yet." Sitting his carapace on the messed-up mattress, he put his palms on his face when he heard the crash again.

"Will ya keep it down?!" roared a deep voice Dark Leo heard and knew it was his red brother Dark Raph.

Dark Mikey turned to see his angry crimson-skinned brother marching through the room with a very grumpy look on his face. "Do ya got any idea what time it is?!" he demanded when he was close enough to Dark Mikey who leaned backwards with eyes slightly wider.

"Daytime?" the yellow turtle replied with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, early in the daytime!" Dark Raph snapped, making Dark Mikey lean backwards some more.

"Hey, don't you like the smell of burned-up target boxes in the morning?" Dark Mikey asked, patting his bazooka, "I know I do."

"I know I do _not_ like bein' disturbed when I'm sleepin'!" Dark Raph hissed, almost scaring Dark Mikey into hiding his head in his shell, which was impossible due to their size (though ironic because they were turtles).

"Hmph," Dark Leo muttered to himself, "You're always disturbed even when you're awake."

"Could you morons make some more noise?" asked a certain voice that belonged to his purple brother Dark Don.

"Looks like he made it home, after all," Dark Leo pronounced, his hands folded behind his head, resting his leg on the other. He'd wondered if Dark Don got back to the lair last night after seeing him wake up from his head injury, and it sounded like he did.

"A dark turtle can't get any sleep with all that racket," Dark Don continued, coming up to his red and yellow brothers, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, the only reason I'm makin' noise is 'cause this court jester in a shell was makin' noises with this stupid bazooka," Dark Raph explained, indicating the weapon on Dark Mikey's shoulders.

"Now how many times do I have to tell you?" Dark Don demanded, snatching the bazooka away. "This is not a toy!"

"Well, toy or not, it kept me from gettin' bored," Dark Mikey insisted.

Before anything else was said, Dark Raph noticed something on the back of Dark Don's head. "Whoa, what happened to your big cranium, Einstein?"

Dark Leo's eyes widened, knowing he meant Dark Don's injury he received from the blue turtle last night, and sat up and paid close attention.

"I have no idea," Dark Don replied, rubbing his sore spot, "but the last thing I remember was last night, when I was tryin' to...find something new to do...I ended up waking up from my nap on the ground with this on my head."

"What new thing were you tryin' to do?" Dark Mikey asked curiously.

Dark Leo waited to hear if Dark Don would explain to them he'd been trying to neck a girl, but to his surprise, the purple turtle said, "Doesn't matter, but all I know is, something or someone stopped me..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, someone got the jump on you?" Dark Raph questioned in amusement, folding his arms. "Sounds like you got careless, brainiac...and the fact you made a dumb mistake does sound nice."

"Hey, listen, I did not make a dumb mistake," Dark Don declined, which made Dark Leo scoff because his little purple brother was, not only going to make nasty moves on a female, but was considering taking her home to their secret hideout. "The guy got the better hand, that's all."

"Who'd try to mess with us?" Dark Mikey asked.

"Probably those stinkin' Turtles," Dark Raph guessed sourly, the thought of their originals sickening him.

"I'm not sure..." Dark Don doubted thoughtfully, his hand under his chin, then added with a growl, "but if I ever find out who did mess with me, they'll pay ten fold."

Dark Leo blinked in slight concern. If Dark Don knew it was him...what would he do? He could take on all of his brothers...but if they knew he did that to save a girl... He shook his head, telling himself to keep quiet about it all. As long as it was kept secret, nothing would go wrong.

With that, he decided to go out there and act like nothing new happened to him. When he opened the door, his brothers turned their heads to see their leader.

"Well, the last one awake," Dark Don announced dryly.

Dark Leo just gave him a glare that said he was not in the mood to deal with him.

"Say, have you heard?" Dark Mikey asked Dark Leo.

"Heard what?" Dark Leo asked, acting innocent though with a bitter tone in his voice to make it more effective.

"The genius got attacked by a guy out of nowhere last night," Dark Mikey explained, indicating his thumb at his purple brother who gave him a look.

"Thank you for the gossip," Dark Don said sarcastically.

"What, you told us." Dark Mikey shrugged.

"Who attacked you?" Dark Leo asked immediately, pretending to be curious.

"I don't know, but it was with something hard," Dark Don replied, rubbing his bruised head.

Dark Leo wondered if this was a good idea, but he had to keep from being a suspect to his brothers, especially Dark Don, so he asked next, "Where you attacked, exactly?"

"I was just out in the neighborhood," Dark Don began, looking for the right words to say, "trying to find something fun to do, don't ask."

_I don't have to._ Dark Leo told himself.

"And before I knew it, someone hit me hard on the head," Dark Don finished.

Dark Leo would've scolded him for being careless enough to let his guard for someone to knock him out...but suppose Dark Don learned to do that...the _next time_ he was looking for "something fun to do".

"And I'd sure like to give them my gratitude," Dark Don added darkly, making Dark Leo a little uneasy, but didn't show it.

"Why? They hit ya on the head?" Dark Mikey asked.

Dark Don groaned at his yellow brother's stupidity and hissed, "I was being sarcastic, you..." The purple turtle stopped and clenched his fist to steady himself. "Never mind," he spoke calmly, "I don't have time for you. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go lock the weapons away, and find the person who gave me the black-and-blue spot on my purple head."

Dark Leo almost winced at that...but he knew Dark Don wouldn't be able to find anything. He made sure not to leave any clues behind, and even picked his throwing star that he'd used to distract Dark Don from kissing that girl...

_Speaking of which...she said in that dream that should look for her... But why should I? It's because of her, I have to watch my shell or risk being called soft by my so-called team..._

"Hey," said Dark Mikey who pulled Dark Leo out of his thoughts, "What's gotten into you? You looked like you were thinking hard about somethin'."

"So what?" Dark Leo challenged with his arms folded. "It's not like you'd know what hard thinking is."

Without another word, Dark Leo walked away, making Dark Mikey murmuring, "Boy, everybody is so touchy this morning."

As soon as Dark Leo was away, he sighed, his hand on his head. "Great, now I have to keep my head down around here, thanks to her... If she does want me to look for her, she can forget it... Maybe I should've just let him have his way with her..."

Then again, if he did and if Dark Don enjoyed it, he would've brought her to the lair as his personal love toy like he had told her last night and she could've escaped and told the Peace Keepers where they were...and that wasn't an option...

...And...he remembered those tears in her eyes when Dark Don tried to treat her in such a way... The horror on her face that, not only would a giant mutant turtle would have taken advantage of her, but the possibility of him making her his love prisoner...and Dark Leo still didn't like it...

He leaned on the wall and sat down, wondering, _Why? What do I care? What...?_

"_If you wish to know more...come look for me..._" the girl's voice echoed in his head.

"I wish to know...but how much trouble will I be in if I do find her...?" he asked himself... "No way, forget it. I'm not risking my brothers knowing. Just...no." And then Dark Leo walked away.

* * *

><p>At O'Neil Tech, Elizabeth was busy putting papers here and there in their proper places as usual, wondering hoping lunchtime would come soon. Just like in school, lunchtime was the only time for relaxation and peace.<p>

Finally, her 30-minute of salvation came and she quickly grabbed a hover burger and brought her own bag of healthy fiber chips and bottle of water. She was saying her grace and had added, "And please, God, whoever that blue turtle is, may he and his brothers have everything they need...and please forgive them of their crimes...and help guide them in their life. Thank You, good Lord. Amen."

Speaking of which, Elizabeth wondered where he was again. She wanted to see him again so badly...but she couldn't go back into that neighborhood again. She promised that blue turtle not to as well as keeping quiet about them...

She sighed, leaning backwards on her bench, looking at the blue sky, thinking that its shade of blue was much like her blue-shelled hero's.

"God, please help me see him again soon. I...I just can't help wanting to meet him..."

After lunch, she forced herself back to work and what usually felt like forever, work ended like it only took ten minutes. Elizabeth, not ready to go home, decided to go to walk by the East River to look at the city's lights' reflection dance on the water. She'd always enjoyed this sort of thing and thought that maybe she should come more often after work.

Making sure no one was looking, she took off her shoes and socks and dipped her feet over the railing and into the water, enjoying the coolness soaking her feet.

* * *

><p>Dark Leo, wanting to get away, decided to go for a walk...or at least a jump from the rooftops. Sometimes, he would've liked it if he could just walk on the streets instead of having to jump to avoid crowds. Actually, there was one place he knew where a lot of people don't go after dark...<p>

He managed to find the place and found a sidewalk by the location where he had been last night in his dream. Seeing the city's lights' reflection in the water in real life was better than his dream and he was glad to have found it...and thankfully empty as he walked alongside the water, enjoying the blissful peace and quiet.

"Why haven't I found this place sooner?" he asked himself. When he thought about it, he recalled this was the place where he'd met up with that black-haired girl in his dream and he began to wonder if she'd be here...

"Nah..." he denied, shaking his head. "It was just a dream... I mean, what are the odds?"

As he kept going on, enchanted by the beautiful reflection in the water, he caught the attention of someone sitting with their feet in the water and when he turned to look at the sidewalk again, he saw that very familiar person, her emerald eyes wide and glimmering brightly as the city lights themselves...

He was as shocked as she was and she was the first to say, "It's you."


End file.
